When our battery is running low

快要崩溃怎么办?

词汇：考研 | 句法：四级 | 文本：考研

刘立军 供稿

There’s a simple truth about children: they never know when they’re tired. They might suddenly despise their mother, wish harm on their sibling, see a minor mishap as a catastrophe, or feel their self-worth depends on throwing a bread knife out the window. It’s a parent’s job to gently but firmly say, “Enough, it’s time for bed.”

关于孩子，有一个简单的事实：他们从不知道自己什么时候累了。他们可能突然讨厌妈妈，希望自己的兄弟姐妹遭遇不幸，把小事当成灾难，或觉得自己的自我价值取决于能否把面包刀从窗户扔出去。父母的职责就是温柔但坚定地说：“够了，该上床睡觉了。”

As adults, we fail to offer ourselves the same understanding. We ignore our physical limits and mental exhaustion.

作为成年人，我们却无法对自己做出同样的体谅。我们忽视了自己的身体极限和精神疲劳。

Imagine it’s past 7 PM. You’ve had six hours of interrupted sleep, been up since 6:30 AM, had four cups of coffee, answered 67 emails, crossed town twice, attended four meetings, given two presentations, eaten four slices of pizza, watched 45 viral videos, and read about fifteen conflicts and twelve scandals. Unbeknownst to you, you’ve entered a dangerous zone where extraordinary care is needed to manage a safe landing.

想象一下，现在已经晚上七点多了。你只断断续续睡了六小时，从早上六点半就起床，喝了四杯咖啡，回复了67封邮件，穿越城市两次，参加了四个会议，做了两次报告，吃了四片披萨，看了45个爆火视频，读了十五起冲突事件和十二起丑闻。你已经进入了一个危险区域，需要特别小心才能平稳着陆。

We must recognize the danger we’re in: the danger of seeing only others’ idiocies without understanding their reasons, perceiving accidents as intentional acts, venting our frustrations on loved ones due to general world fatigue, or thinking that shouting might solve anything.

我们必须认识到我们所处的危险：只看到别人的愚蠢，却不理解他们的理由，将意外视为故意的行为，因对世界的疲惫而把自己的沮丧情绪发泄到爱人身上，或认为靠大喊大叫就能解决问题。

The day’s gradual depletion of our perspective is hazardous. We may not have done anything monumental, like climbing a mountain or performing heart surgery, and that’s part of the problem. Our downfall will come not from one major event but from decades of minor aggravations and low-grade frictions.

一天下来，我们的判断力逐渐被消耗殆尽，这是危险的。我们可能没有做过什么壮举，比如爬山或做心脏手术，这正是问题的一部分。压垮我们的不是一个重大事件，而是数十年来积攒的小摩擦和轻微的烦恼。

There are many things we must avoid. For instance, discussing the need to tidy up, planning holidays, questioning why we no longer have fun, or reviewing finances. Our rising anger about trivial matters – the chip in the wall, missing tape, or a partner’s tone – must be recognized as misdirected and addressed at another time.

我们必须避免许多事情。例如，讨论整理房间的需要，计划假期，质疑为什么不再感到快乐，或查看财务状况。当我们对琐事——墙上的裂痕、丢失的胶带或伴侣的语气）——的愤怒越来越强烈时，必须意识到这些怒火指错了方向，应该在另一个时间解决。

We need to communicate to our loved ones that, despite appearances, we are in a fragile state. With a mild smile, we can admit we’ve gone a bit mad.

我们需要与爱人交流，尽管表面上看不出来，我们正处于一个脆弱的状态。我们可以微微一笑，承认自己有点失控了。

To show ourselves love, we need to retreat. Taking a long bath and going to bed early – perhaps by nine, which is early for an adult but perfect for an exhausted person who’s been active since dawn – can be immensely beneficial. As kind people have advised us from the start, things will seem much more bearable in the morning.

为了爱自己，我们需要退下来休息。洗个长澡，早点上床睡觉——可能在九点之前，这对成年人来说很早，但对于一个从黎明就忙碌至今的疲惫的人来说非常合适——这会非常有益。正如善良的人们一开始就建议的那样，到了早上，一切似乎都会变得容易承受得多。

【词汇】

1. sibling n. 兄弟，姐妹

2. mishap n. 灾祸； 不幸事故

3. viral adj. 病毒的，病毒引起的

4. unbeknownst adj. 未知的，不为人知的

5. idiocies n. 极度的愚蠢（idiocy的名词复数）；愚蠢的行为；白痴状态

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